Macro Creators and Micro Creators

On Creative Elements, I’ve interviewed about three dozen different independent creators thus far (of course, I’d say that I’ve “studied” probably ten times as many creators over the last couple of years)!

And they kind of fall into two camps: micro creators and macro creators.

Micro creators are making and sharing small projects constantly – podcast episodes, articles, YouTube videos, Instagram Stories, TikToks(?), etc.

Micro creators view consistency as the key to building trust with their audience, and so they continue to make and ship on a monthly, weekly, or often a daily basis.

Then you have macro creators who go in and out of a “creative cave” to build larger-scale pieces of work. Things like a novel, video series, film, physical product, or even a training program.

I’m starting to notice my own inner tension between these two ideas.

Obviously, there’s no reason why you can’t pursue both strategies. And a lot of people do – Ryan Holiday writes novels while also maintaining a daily newsletter, podcast, and more for example.

But the constraint is time.

It’s hard to allocate quality creative energy towards a smaller, more frequent medium while also building towards a larger project.

Some people get creative and string these together – several of Seth Godin’s books are really a collection of blog posts, and Tim Ferriss wrote a Tribe of Mentors by emailing a short prompt to more than 100 individuals.

But the time constraint is especially real for creators early in their journey. Seth Godin, Ryan Holiday, and Tim Ferriss have the resources to build teams around their work.

For the early stage solo creator, this just isn’t practical.

So we’re forced to choose.

And, frankly, it’s easier (or at least improves your odds) to build an audience by creating smaller, more frequent work.

Which puts creators interested in larger ideas in a tough position.

When I talked to Eric Jorgenson on the show recently, he talked about the process of creating the Navalmanack. And frankly, it sounded like a lot of fun.

Years spent behind the scenes working on something? What a different pace than writing two newsletters and producing two podcasts every week!

I don’t want to not do those things...but, man, taking a pause to dig into something more deeply sounds fun.

I tell myself that I need to earn the time and ability to press pause and focus on something larger...but that’s a lie. That’s a story I’m telling myself to keep from making any major changes in how I’m investing my time.

Change is scary.

The thought of losing ground on what I’ve built so far is scary.

But there are other solutions. I’m sure I could find three hours per week to put towards a larger creative project. Will it get done quickly? Nope. Will it get done? Eventually!

All this to say, if you find yourself caught in the tension between micro and macro creative work, I see you. I feel you. And I’m right there struggling with you.

Comment below and let me know:

→ What are you spending your time working on lately?

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This Week on Creative Elements

DividerThis week is a special episode! This week I'm speaking with the host of one of my favorite podcasts, Dan Andrews.

Dan is the creator and host of the Tropical MBA podcast, a show for location independent entrepreneurs. The show has been downloaded millions of times since 2009.

Tropical MBA has fostered a private community of location-independent entrepreneurs called the Dynamite Circle (DC) and hosts an annual even in Bangkok called DCBKK.

Dan is also the author of Before The Exit and the co-founder of Dynamite Jobs.

In this episode we talk about Dan’s journey building the TMBA universe, being ahead of business trends, building community, business partners, and why the Legitness of Dan’s message has attracted that audience and built that community.

Click here to listen

Jay Clouse is the creator of Freelancing School, which provides the training and community to help people make a living freelancing. He is also the founder of Unreal Collective, a community for founders, freelancers, and creators that runs a 12-week accelerator program.

Jay hosts Creative Elements, which interviews high-profile creators who have made their own independent living.

You can connect with Jay on Twitter @jayclouse or sign up for his Sunday newsletter for creatives at jayclouse.com.

And if you REALLY want to say 'thank you,' you can buy me a coffee.